Now THAT was a heavy week! Protests, blackouts, debates, Newt... wow. Thanks to all of you, over the last week we've added over 6,000 new followers around the world, and we're one of the fastest growing pages on G+! All of us here at Stop SOPA want to thank you for your support, trust, and input as we continue to push forward on the issues that truly matter to all of us. As a little treat, here's a song to help start your weekend. If you can't view it where you are on the planet due to restrictions, maybe that's something we need to work on! THANK YOU!﻿

It's becoming more widely understood what a stacked deck the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee was dealing from last Wednesday as it pushed the odious "Stop Online Privacy Act" (SOPA). All but one witness was an enthusiastic supporter of a bill that would create a new American censorship regime, as well as muck dangerously with the technical underpinnings of the Internet.

It's not just their hearing that had not a shred of fairness or debate. Look at the web page they've created to showcase this law, which purports to target only the worst of the worst "rogue websites" but in reality would lead to wider censorship and require innovators to get permission from Hollywood. The page (http://www.judiciary.house.gov/issues/issues_RogueWebsites.html) doesn't bother to give any time (much less equal time) to other views. It makes last Wednesday's hearing seem like a model of honest debate by comparison.

We knew the leaders of this committee were liars. Now we know -- given their unwillingness to give even a whisper to their critics -- that they're cowards, too.﻿

It's becoming more widely understood what a stacked deck the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee was dealing from last Wednesday as it pushed the odious "Stop Online Privacy Act" (SOPA). All but one witness was an enthusiastic supporter of a bill that would create a new American censorship regime, as well as muck dangerously with the technical underpinnings of the Internet.

It's not just their hearing that had not a shred of fairness or debate. Look at the web page they've created to showcase this law, which purports to target only the worst of the worst "rogue websites" but in reality would lead to wider censorship and require innovators to get permission from Hollywood. The page (http://www.judiciary.house.gov/issues/issues_RogueWebsites.html) doesn't bother to give any time (much less equal time) to other views. It makes last Wednesday's hearing seem like a model of honest debate by comparison.

We knew the leaders of this committee were liars. Now we know -- given their unwillingness to give even a whisper to their critics -- that they're cowards, too.﻿

Another reason to have no faith in Congress: insider trading is illegal unless you're a congressman

This is one more egregious example of where Congress is not subject to the same laws they pass for the rest of us. It's high time that Congress had to use the same healthcare system and the same retirement system as the rest of the country, and to follow the same laws.

It's a fundamental corruption of the system when those who make the laws don't have to follow them. Shame on Congress for allowing this, and shame on us for letting them get away with it.﻿

Communities

StrangeStore LinksSharing from Google Drive now allows live links from right here in the stream.Amazing!The links below take you to my Zazzle Store, StrangeStore, where you can see these guys on all manner of great gifts.Thanks Google, this is an incredible new feature.

This endless litany of complete and utter strangers, seemingly unrelated to me or my field of work in any way, adding me to their circles in G+ is getting really tedious. Most are not artists or arts professionals. They're not anyone I've ever heard of. They're not friends of friends. And I have zero idea why they would add me in the first place. I actually did start a "Fucked If I Know" circle, but that doesn't mean I want ten thousand people in it. Let's just say G+ and I are in a state of ambiguous stasis.﻿

" Lucovsky says that when he walked into Ballmer’s office and told the Microsoft CEO he was leaving the company for Google, Ballmer picked up his chair and chucked it across the room. “Why does that surprise anyone?” Lucovsky tells Wired.com, seven years later. “If you play golf with Steve and he loses a five-cent bet, he’s pissy for the next week. Should it surprise you that when I tell Steve I’m quitting and going to work for Google, he would get animated?”

Another reason to have no faith in Congress: insider trading is illegal unless you're a congressman

This is one more egregious example of where Congress is not subject to the same laws they pass for the rest of us. It's high time that Congress had to use the same healthcare system and the same retirement system as the rest of the country, and to follow the same laws.

It's a fundamental corruption of the system when those who make the laws don't have to follow them. Shame on Congress for allowing this, and shame on us for letting them get away with it.﻿

[update] Retirement has happened. Still feeling rather stunned and disoriented. Like an old dog that suddenly finds itself unchained and outside of its familiar back yard.

Hopefully I won't start chasing cars...

[update 2] SOPA/PIPA and all of the nasty attempts by Media Mobsters to control, lock-down, censor and destroy the REST of the World's ability to share information, might be defeated right now. But it's only a temporary set back to them, they'll toss us a bone and act like they've really changed, but the battle for control will continue.